Tyger
by Triciaxy
Summary: Annie Reese didn't know what she was getting into when her mother decided they were moving from America to Europe, where she would have to transfer to Hogwarts. Companion story to: The Invisible Girl. (probably won't finish this companion story unless I get requests for it to be finished)
1. Leaving

**^^^Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything that is not mine. J.K. Rowling created this wonderful world and the characters within it and I am very grateful she did. I do however claim the original characters I have created which include; Deirdra and Annie. I partially claim Constance Reese but give credit to StupefyStunner ,who originally created the teenage version of her in a story that no longer exists.^^^**

**A/NThis is a companion story to my other story, The Invisible Girl. Go check it out. It's a George/OC romance/adventure story. Deirdra is the main character in it. The stories merge starting at chapter 37.**

I glared at my mother as we prepared to leave.

"Annie, don't glare. I don't understand why you are acting like this." My mother, Constance Reese said in her annoying, know-it-all, voice.

"Because, Mom, I have one year left of school and you're dragging me off to spend it in a foreign country at a school where I don't know anyone." I explained angrily.

"You were all excited about it when we talked about it last year."

"Yeah! Last year, when it was just going to be for the summer and not indefinitely and before that evil wizard, Voldemort, took control of the school with his minions." I replied tartly. My mother ignored me and continued walking towards the port key.

"I'm sorry. I know it's longer than we first discussed but you'll meet plenty of people over the summer before school starts. Besides, it's not like you're really leaving a bunch of friends behind here. I think the change will be good." Mom said. I rolled my golden eyes and kept following. When my mother was set on something, there was no deterring her. I didn't want her running off into danger without me. She kept tell me it was for my own good, moving to another country but I didn't agree. It wouldn't be for my own good if her or I got killed by Death Eaters. If they could kill Albus Dumbledore, then who couldn't they kill? Harry Potter, I thought, hopefully.

B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B

I was going to throw up. I dropped my bags and clutched at my stomach.

"Breathe deeply sweetie. The nausea will pass." Mom instructed. I did as she instructed and it worked. I grabbed my bags from the ground and followed my mom down the side walk of the small neighborhood. We came along to a house that was quite large with stone wall, rod iron entrance gate and had large stained glass windows. There were no lights on inside the house but the moon shone down brightly, showing the beautiful colors of the windows. "Welcome to the Dumbledore family home." My mom said with a sad smile. I wondered if Deirdra Dumbledore was even home. She might not want to spend time at home now that her Dad was dead.

Mom knocked loudly on the door. I looked around nervously. I hoped Death Eaters weren't keeping an eye on the place. The door creaked open suddenly and my mom smiled. She pushed the door open the rest of the way and I followed her into the dark house, closing the door softly behind me.

"Con!" A girl exclaimed, popping out of thin air and hugging my mom tightly. I watched awkwardly as they exchanged greetings. "Oh, sorry. Silly me." The girl said as I stumbled and bumped into a table. She suddenly illuminated the room. I could now see the e girl. Well, she's not really a girl. I knew she was older than me by a few years, so technically she was a woman. She had long dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes and just the most beautiful face with pouty lips and dimples when she smiled. She was pale and a little skinny but curvy where it counted. "You must be Annie!" She exclaimed, friendly, with a smile and embraced me in a hug.

"I'm Deirdra or you can call me Dee for short if you'd like." She chirped. "I'm so happy to have people to fill my house again. It's been so quiet since Da died. George and Cedric visit often enough but other than that, everyone else is too busy. Mrs. Weasley is very busy with planning Bill and Fleur's wedding. Fred is just a sourpuss and I rarely see him anymore unless I visit the joke shop…." She rushed on about the people in her life. I wished I knew more about the people she was talking about but the names were only vaguely familiar from the stories mom had told me from her stay here last year. "Anyways, I'll show you to your rooms. Con, you'll be staying in Da's old room. I converted it for you so it would be more to your comfort. Annie, I converted the attic into a nice little suite for you. I hope you will like it." She explained as we climbed the stairs to the second floor.

"Why did you have all the lights off, my dear?" My mom asked. Deirdra went pale, stopping in her tracks. My mom gasped. "I'm so sorry Deirdra. I promise not to call you that again." My mom said quickly and sincerely. I was slightly confused but I didn't stop to worry about it.

"It's okay Con." Deirdra said shakily. "The lights were off because I just like to roam the house in the dark at night. It's become a habit of mine lately. If it bothers you, just let me know." She added more firmly as we continued up the stairs.

*****Thanks to everyone for Reading. Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks! **


	2. Swimming

**^^^Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything that is not mine. J.K. Rowling created this wonderful world and the characters within it and I am very grateful she did. I do however claim the original characters I have created which include; Deirdra and Annie. I partially claim Constance Reese but give credit to StupefyStunner, who originally created the teenage version of her in a story that no longer exists.^^^**

**A/N This is a companion story to my other story, The Invisible Girl. Go check it out. It's a George/OC romance/adventure story. Deirdra is the main character in it. The stories merge starting at chapter 37. .net/s/7124325/1/The_Invisible_Girl**

George and Dee were splashing around carelessly in the water while I looked around nervously.

"Annie, relax sweetheart. We are safe here. I promise." Mom said from her spot, perched upon a log. Her large flappy hat hid her eyes from me and I wondered how she could even see where she was walking with it on.

"Mom, this feels like something we shouldn't be doing. Do they normally allow random people to just come onto school grounds during the summer break to have a swim in the pond?" I asked, irritated and worried. Mom sighed and I imagined she was rolling her eyes at me too.

"You definitely didn't get this sense of right and wrong from me or your father…" She mused. I quirked my eye at her, curious about what that was supposed to mean. "And it's not a pond, it's the Black Lake." She added.

"Are you saying that you and my father broke the rules here at Hogwarts?" I asked, seriously. Mom laughed. It wasn't the short, slightly amused laugh either. It was the, holding the stomach, doubled over, unable to stop, kind of laughing. I glared at her. My eyes flicked out into the water at George and Dee. They seemed so happy. I wondered if that's how my mom and dad had been when they were together. I blushed as George kissed Dee. His hands were under the water where they couldn't be seen and I was sure he was touching her inappropriately. Haven't they ever heard of PDA here? In America it's frowned upon and we get in trouble, but I suppose this isn't school and though George and Dee are young, they are adults… "I see that look in your eye Annie. Stop trying to be everyone's parent and have some fun." Mom said to me now that she had stopped laughing. I glared at her again.

"How can you even see my eyes with that dreadful hat on?" I asked her in jest. She smiled, her beautiful smile, without replying.

"Go swim Annie." She commanded. I scowled at her again and stood up abruptly, heading for the water. "Don't forget to take off your shoes sweetie." She added. I hated to swim. I didn't want to, but of course we were going to do it anyways because we were Dee's guests and that's what was on the menu for the day. I stripped down to my plain black full piece bathing suit. I was glad I had thought to bring it. Dee and George were just swimming in their underwear. I supposed it didn't matter since we weren't really in public anywhere but I didn't want to ruin any of my underwear and plus it was just a little embarrassing stripping down at all in front of George. I knew he was in love with Dee, but I still couldn't help but to notice how cute he was. I liked his sense of humor even though it pushed my boundaries of "acceptable". He is definitely someone who got in trouble at school and I had always made it my point to stay away from trouble makers.

B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B

I stomped up the rod iron stairs to my bed room, white powder trailing behind me. I was furious. George had invited his brother, Fred, over. Mom and I had been in the middle of making dough for bread. Somehow I had ended up getting sprayed, "accidentally", with the facet and then flour, "accidentally", got tossed into the air above me, raining down and covering me. Everyone had laughed, but not me. They were lucky I had learned to control my temper by now. I remembered one year when I was at school, I was about 12, this girl had tripped me on purpose and I had already been in a bad mood from something else and before I could stop it, I had her pinned down to the floor, my claws piercing her arms and my sharp teeth inches from her neck. I had been given a month's worth of detentions, in which my transfiguration professor had pushed me to learn control over my temper.

"Annie!" "Annie!" "Come back!" "We're sorry!" I heard the twins call up after me. I headed straight to the bathroom, stripping off my soiled clothes and tossing them into the dirty laundry basket. "Annie! It's Fred! I'm coming up after you unless you say you forgive us right now!" I heard shouted. I froze in the doorway of the bathroom, wearing nothing but my underwear. Before I could reply, I see his red head pop up the stairs. I let out a shriek and stepped into the bathroom and slamming the door behind me.

Who did he think he was to just come into my room like that? I was bright red with embarrassment. I looked down at my teenage body and scowled. My tummy was slightly pudgy and my breasts were still quite small. I didn't think guys could find me attractive and I certainly wasn't comfortable with any guy seeing me naked. I pulled my long, messy black hair back out of its tight braid. At least the braid kept the flour from working its way too much into my hair. I jumped into the shower. Fred's shocked face was still frozen in my mind. I dreaded having to see him again. Hopefully he would be gone when I got out of the shower.

*****I know it's short, but I'm making this story kind of pop back and forth with The Invisible girl. This story will not be as complicated in content as The Invisible Girl because there is already enough complicated content in that one for this one too. LOL.. Well, there will be slightly complicated content but nothing as in depth as I've created in Invisible Girl. **


	3. Joking

^^^Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything that is not mine. J.K. Rowling created this wonderful world and the characters within it and I am very grateful she did. I do however claim the original characters I have created which include; Deirdra and Annie. I partially claim Constance Reese but give credit to StupefyStunner, who originally created the teenage version of her in a story that no longer exists.^^^

I blushed as Fred glared at me from across the room. I couldn't believe I let my anger get the best of me. I had apologized to him several times even though I didn't really want to. He had deserved getting attacked. His snippy comment about me being a prude when he had shown me their line of love potions had angered me. I had been teased at school in America, where apparently straddling a guy and sucking his face was the norm and I obviously wasn't normal because I didn't approve of it. Everyone called me a prude there and I didn't want people starting to say it here. Disapproving of love potions shouldn't have been enough to warrant that snide comment and I was still very annoyed at him for it. Dee stood before me, talking to me about controlling my temper while I ignored her. George was already straightening up the store. The bell on the door chimed and everyone looked to the door. Dee disappeared right in front of my face, leaving me gaping in shock.

"Dee? Where'd you go?" I asked, looking around. George looked at me and shook his head no, as if to silence my question.

"Good morning Verity." He greeted the pretty, young brunette with a smile. She looked around at the mess he was still cleaning up.

"What happened?" She questioned. Fred groaned.

"Please, let's not talk about it anymore. Let's just try to forget it. Okay?" He asked, looking at me with kinder eyes. I looked down.

"Who's this?" She asked, curiously, and only slightly friendly. I looked up and smiled meekly at her.

"This is Annie. She's going to be working here part time this summer. She's a daughter of a friend. Fred was showing her around but then we plan on you showing her the basic ropes of the store and about stocking the shelves today. Think you're up to the task?" He informed and questioned. She continued to stare at me uncertainly. When she answered, she sounded unsure still and possibly wary. I wondered if my eyes were still glowing from my anger.

"I guess so…" She said.

B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B

I finished re-stocking the shelf of love potions. Today was my 3rd day on the job and it was going horribly. I couldn't remember where anything was. I had dreams at night that I was stocking shelves and chancing after decoy detonators. I'd wake up in a cold sweat with one name on my tongue, Verity. She was getting annoyed at me. I kept asking her questions because I couldn't remember what she had told me the day before. There was so much to remember.

I headed to the back room to grab the next box of products that I needed to re-stock but as I was about to round the corner I heard Verity's voice, sounding very irritated.

" Seriously? You have to be joking! Am I supposed to be training her to take my place, because if so, that'll take forever! She can't remember anything and every time she turns those murky gold eyes on me I get the chills. I hate working with her!" She exclaimed to whoever she was speaking to. I felt my lip curl to a frown and felt tears prickle behind my eyes.

"Verity, calm down. We are not training her to replace you. She's here to meet people who come in as customers and make friends. She's new to the country and is going to be a transfer student to Hogwarts this fall. Be nice to her. She'll pick it up eventually." I heard Fred's voice try to rationalize with her. I heard her huff. A tear leaked out of my eye and I considered briefly just running out and leaving.

"What kind of idiot parent drags their child to our country where You-Know-Who is on the rise and the possibility of death is always imminent?" Verity continued, sounding very rude. My hurt feelings were quickly pushed away as anger rose out of me.

"CHILL OUT VERITY. You are being rude. Stop it." Fred said sternly.

"Whatever. My shift is over and she isn't done re-stocking the shelves yet. I'm NOT staying late to help her. I'm out of here." Verity said crossly and I heard her stomp off towards the fireplace to floo home. Tears were still dripping down my cheeks and a new hatred had formed in my heart for little Miss Verity. Fred came around the corner suddenly and saw me standing there with my tears still staining my cheeks. I wiped roughly at my cheeks and rushed off to the storage room before he could say anything.

I grabbed the box of life flowers. They were a new item that apparently George had invented all by himself. They had just started selling them last week apparently and they had already sold so many. I thought it was a work of some wonderful and beautiful magic. I turned around with the box and ran straight into Fred.

"Attacking me with boxes now, eh?" He asked with a crooked smile. I blushed and looked down at the box, refusing to meet his eyes. "Hey, whatever you heard Verity say, just forget about it. She's a witch." He said seriously but with a wink at the end. I smiled meekly at him without looking at him still. "Relax girlie. You really need to smile more often and look at people. So many people would be willing to be your friend if you just smiled and let them know you really are nice and not wanting to sic your tiger on them." He said with a soft chuckle. I blushed and looked up at him. He grinned bigger as my eyes met his. I couldn't help but smile in return. "There's that beautiful smile and those gorgeous golden eyes."

"Why are you being nice to me? I attacked you…" I said softly. He laughed.

"Well, you seem to be nice and I don't think you're going to attack me again unless I make you mad again. I figure the best way to keep you from getting mad at me is by becoming your friend." He said cheerfully. I laughed. "Well, well, you can be amused. That's a pretty sounding laugh you have there, much more pleasant to hear than your roar." Fred added. "I'll have to keep you laughing then and NOT roaring. Why a tiger anyways? Can't animagus' turn into whatever animal they want to?" He asked.

"Yes, they can. I really like the tiger. It just always felt right to me. I can change into other animals too, but the tiger is a part of me. I've been turning into a tiger since I was a very young child. Did you know that child animagus' turn into the "child" form of their animals? I made a very cute tiger cub." I explained and ended smiling at the memory of pouncing around the house as a tiger cub. Fred laughed at the idea.

"I had never thought of that before. Interesting… Though that could be inconvenient." He added.

"Why inconvenient?" I asked

"Well, what if a child who was an animagus was attacked by some other animal and they could only turn into a child size version of an animal, they wouldn't stand a chance against the full grown version." He said. I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I don't think that situation would come up very often. Besides, a child who could change into a tiger cub probably has a better chance at defending themselves as a cub than as a human child." I said logically. He seemed to think over the idea before nodding his head in agreement. "Anyways, I really should finish stocking the shelves so I can get out of here. " I said, breaking our conversation. He frowned.

"I'll help you so you can get out of here faster. I don't want Con or Dee getting worried about you. If you thought I was scared of you as a tiger, you should see me cower when either of those two is mad…" He said in humor. I laughed. I knew first hand that my mother had a bad temper. That's where I partially got mine from. Fred grabbed the box from my arms and headed out onto the floor to stock the shelves. I grabbed another box of products we needed to stock and followed.

***** Yeah! I got another chapter done. I don't have another chapter for Invisible Girl written yet. I'll work on that next, but here's this to tide you guys over since I left you on a cliff hanger. :P Enjoy.**


	4. Talking, yelling, Sleeping

**^^^Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything that is not mine. J.K. Rowling created this wonderful world and the characters within it and I am very grateful she did. I do however claim the original characters I have created which include; Deirdra and Annie. I partially claim Constance Reese but give credit to StupefyStunner ,who originally created the teenage version of her in a story that no longer exists.^^^**

I cornered Dee, demanding her to have a conversation with me. Her illness had passed after a couple of days and now I wanted to talk to her about it. She glared at me as I cornered her in the sitting room.

"Annie, I don't want to talk about it. I've already had to deal with everyone else's accusations." She said sounding hurt. I frowned.

"I'm sorry Dee. I just wanted us to be friends and friends talk. Especially about stuff like this." I replied, hoping I sounded genuine and caring. She sighed and sank to the floor, pulling her knees up to her chin. I sat down on the floor next to her and put my arm over her shoulder. She leaned her head against me.

"I don't know what to do. Everyone thinks I'm pregnant. I'm positive I'm not though. I wish everyone would just leave me alone about it." She pouted, sounding ready to cry. My heart ached for her. It had been a dramatic scene. Mrs. Weasley had gone on a rant. She had yelled a George while everyone sat there uncomfortable and feeling sorry for him while Dee was upstairs puking. She had called Dee a hussy and demanded that she be sent away at once. She couldn't believe that George had merely fallen in love anymore. Surely, it was just the hussy capturing him with seduction. Mrs. Weasley had shocked me with how rude she was being. I hadn't been led to believe that Mrs. Weasley was that type of person. George had just stood there and let her yell. Nobody else said anything to either of their defenses, so I had stood up and yelled. I told Mrs. Weasley just how awful I thought she was being and defended Dee. George had taken the distraction of me yelling at his mum and ran off after Dee. Mrs. Weasley had been furious and demanded that Dee, my mum and I all leave. That's when Mr. Weasley finally grew a pair and stood up, telling Mrs. Weasley that she needed to calm down and that nobody was leaving. Mrs. Weasley had huffed but stopped yelling and spent the rest of the dinner time completely ignoring me and my mum. George and Dee hadn't come back to join us but still the dinner finished quickly since everyone was eager to escape the uncomfortable situation.

"Maybe we should do something to get our minds off of it. What do you want to do?" I encouraged with a small smile. Dee seemed in thought for a long moment before she suddenly smiled.

"I will go see my friend." She said simply. I gave her an affronted look, letting her know I was offended that she was leaving me to go see a friend, indicating that she didn't consider me a friend. She rolled her eyes at me and laughed. "Going to see another friend. You can come too, if you'd like." She offered. It didn't take me long to decide to go. It'd be nice to escape the Weasley household that was so tense. I nodded my head in agreement, a huge grin on my face. "Let's go then." She said and pulled me up to stand with her. We apparated away from the burrow.

As we landed, I fell to the ground, not used to the feeling of apparition. When I looked at Dee she smiled and seemed perfectly fine. We were in a dark, cool room.

"Well, hello there. I wasn't expecting any guests today." Said a male voice from behind me. Dee beamed a smile at whoever it was before rushing over to them. I stood up and turned to face them. They were hugging. The young man she was hugging was ruggedly handsome with spiky brown hair and twinkling eyes. The way he looked at Dee, told me that he was in love with her. This confused me slightly, since I knew that Dee and George were madly in love. Who was this young man?

Dee pulled away from the hug and turned to me, finally to introduce us.

"Annie, this is Cedric Diggory. Cedric, this is Annie Reese." She introduced. He smiled at me friendly, but reserved. I smiled back in the same way. His name seemed familiar but I wasn't sure why. I cocked an eye brow at Dee, letting her know my intrigue.

"Your name sounds familiar. Where have I heard of you before?" I inquired straight to Cedric instead. He smiled softly but the sadness in his eyes told me that the answer wasn't a good one.

"You probably heard about my death during the Tri-Wizard Tournament a few years ago." He said, almost casually. I gave him a confused look.

"I remember that now. It was in the news, but obviously you aren't dead now." I said, almost in question, hoping he would explain it to me. He gave me a grim smile.

"Yes, I am not dead now. Though, I did die. It's quite complicated. Maybe Dee can explain it to you more later. It is thanks to her that I am alive today. Though not many know that I am alive, thus, it is important that you not tell anyone about meeting me." He explained vaguely. I longed to growl in frustration at him but I held it in. I didn't want to frighten one of Dee's few friends. Besides, he really was quite handsome and something deep inside longed for the look in his eyes he had when he looked at Dee. If only he would see me… like that… I chided myself for being so foolishly girly and romantic. He's older than me and probably wouldn't even consider even thinking about looking at me in that way.

We continued our get together talking. Dee and Cedric discussed many books that they had read and several times they forgot altogether that I was even there. I pretended to them that I didn't care that they forgot about me but inwardly I really felt hurt. My tiger growled at my lack of courage to speak up and not let them forget about me. I shushed my tiger. I feel like I have to keep shushing her. Maybe I shouldn't…

B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B

I punched the pillow before squashing it once more around my head trying to block out the sounds of Fleur's snoring. We were all sharing a room together and Fleur apparently snores. I had been trying to deal with it but I was starting to get grouching from the several nights of bad sleep because of it. I threw off my blanket and crept out of the bed. Looking around the room, Dee's bed was empty, I noticed, but everyone else was fast asleep. I slipped out the room and headed downstairs to go outside.

The house was dark as I traversed my way around but I had good night vision. I quietly went out the back door being careful that the door didn't creak as I closed it. The stars shined brightly in the sky and the nearly full moon illuminated the pathway to the garden. I made my way silently into the garden, trying to be careful not to step on any of the pesky gnomes. I found myself a spot next to a beautiful honeysuckle shrub. I lay back on the grass and stared up at the stars. They were so beautiful. I loved sleeping under the stars. I actually missed my room back at Dee's house. The tiger in me purred in happiness and I decided to transform into it. I curled up my orange and black furred body and fell asleep to a peaceful night under the stars.

*****Yeah! A new chapter for this story finally. Hmmm… I hope people don't think I'm too harsh with portraying Mrs. Weasley's reaction like that. It seemed real to me. She does tend to overreact to things like that. Hope you guys liked it. Let me know. Please review. Thanks for Reading. =)**


	5. Wedding

**^^^Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything that is not mine. J.K. Rowling created this wonderful world and the characters within it and I am very grateful she did. I do however claim the original characters I have created which include; Deirdra and Annie. I partially claim Constance Reese but give credit to StupefyStunner ,who originally created the teenage version of her in a story that no longer exists.^^^**

"Dee, how come Cedric didn't come with his parents?" I asked as I looked around at the guests and she pointed out Mr. and Mrs. Diggory. Ginny was next to me and I heard a sharp gasp from her. Oh crap.

"Annie, Cedric died during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He was killed by You-Know-Who." Ginny said in a whisper. I bit my lip and pretended to go along with it. Though I did know he did die, so I imagined that and it surprised me at how quickly tears came to my eyes. Ginny squeezed my shoulder and moved on into the crowd, scanning the faces as if looking for someone in particular.

"Who is she looking for?" I asked Dee quietly. She was still giving me a disapproving look. I frowned and sighed dramatically. "Sorry, I forgot she was next to us." I explained. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Be more careful next time. It's very important. Not for his safety, but mainly mine." She explained, making me feel worse about my slip up. Not that I didn't care about Cedric's safety too… "Anyways, Ginny is looking for Harry. He's disguised as a "cousin" of theirs for his protection." She explained.

"How do you know she was looking for Harry?" I asked, slightly dumb struck. She just laughed and didn't answer my question.

"Let's find our seats. It looks like the wedding is about to begin." Dee said in a huff. She really didn't want to be at this wedding. It was quite humorous to me. She was nearly as beautiful as Fleur with her Veela blood. She didn't even realize it. Many young men were staring, open mouthed at her. Maybe it was the fact that they just found out about her and that she is Albus Dumbledore's daughter though… Maybe partially anyways, I know they think she's gorgeous because I had overheard them saying so. I was a bit jealous. I would never have guys fawning over me like that.

Dee grabbed my hand and dragged me to our seats. I nearly groaned in annoyance when I saw who I'd be sitting by. George and Fred sat with two empty chairs between them. One was obviously for Dee, next to George. The other apparently was for me, next to Fred. I liked Fred, but he was starting to flirt kind of heavily with me and I wasn't sure it was a good idea. He was funny and cute and sweet too but… I couldn't find a worded excuse why it wasn't a good idea, but my mind did flash to an image of Cedric's face. Cedric's eyes full of love… as he looked at Dee. I scowled. Fred looked affronted. He thought I was scowling at him.

"Well, sorry. I know I'm not the cute twin, but I'm the next best thing." He said loudly, making me laugh.

"Sorry. I wasn't scowling at you. I just had an irritating thought pass through my mind." I informed him with an apologetic smile as I sat down next to him. I felt his arm rest behind me on my chair as I turned my attention to the groom. Bill stood looking nervous, but gleefully happy. It warmed my heart to see someone so in love. The thought drove me to glance over at Dee and George. Dee leaned into George, her head lightly resting on his shoulder. She looked absently off into space, but George's eyes were peeking just barely down at her and he had a slight smile on his face. Her right hand rested on his left thigh and I wished I had a camera to capture the image just then.

*FLASH*

I nearly laughed, though it startled me as well. The wedding photographer had granted my wish. He had apparently seen the scene as well and had to take the shot. Dee shifted in her seat after the startling flash from the camera and looked up at George. He grinned down at her.

"You'd think he'd propose already." Fred whispered in my ear, causing me to startle once more. He chuckled softly.

"Men can be oblivious though." I commented back with a smile, not bothering to turn and look at him. He laughed again.

"So can women." He stated plainly, but with obvious annoyance. I turned and raised an eye brow at him but he was leaning back in his chair now, staring off into space. Music burst out louder and suddenly everyone's attention was focused. The wedding had begun.

***** Sorry for the short chapter. I would make it longer except I didn't want to prolong events too much and I needed to make a chapter for this story before making a new chapter for The Invisible Girl. Hope you enjoy all the insights and thoughts that Annie has. I hope it's not confusing that in this story I don't use special font for her thoughts like I did with Dee's in The Invisible Girl. I've actually not used the special font for Dee's as much lately either. Call me a slacker. LOL. Thanks for Reading. Please Review! Don't forget to follow and Read Invisible Girl too if you don't already.** **.net/s/7124325/1/The_Invisible_Girl**


	6. Bed Messing

**^^^Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything that is not mine. J.K. Rowling created this wonderful world and the characters within it and I am very grateful she did. I do however claim the original characters I have created which include; Deirdra and Annie. I partially claim Constance Reese but give credit to StupefyStunner ,who originally created the teenage version of her in a story that no longer exists.^^^**

"Annie, it'll only be until school starts and then for the holidays." My Mom informed me in annoyance. We were going to be staying at the Diggory's place. I wasn't happy about it. I could still see Cedric's lovey dove eyes staring at Dee. But Dee was gone. She had left the night before. George was gloomy as he walked around helping his family with various things. I actually felt bad for the guy. I'd come to like Dee very much over the weeks and the fact that she was gone left a void even within myself. I couldn't even begin to imagine the void George was feeling. He pushed himself to be as busy as possible, most likely to try to not give himself time to miss her.

Fred had been kept busy too but we still hung out together when we had spare time from doing household chores and such. We had become close friends over the time and the vibes of attraction I felt coming off of him gradually went away and now when we hung out it felt more like I was with the brother I never had. He confided in me about having a huge crush on Verity. In this, I made fun of him like crazy. What else could he have expected? He knows that Verity and I hate each other. I would never like her, the fact that she was too stupid to even realize how great of a guy Fred was only added to my dislike for the girl.

"You'll have fun there. Dee says they have a nice library and dark cozy rooms. There's not much area outside to roam, which is perfect for you." Fred added his sarcasm from the doorway. I looked over at him as he leaned against the wooden door frame and gave him a scowling smile.

"Thanks so much for helping me convince her Fred." My mom said, sounding even more annoyed. I knew that she wouldn't try to "convince" me though. I knew that she wasn't really giving me an option. She was going and I was going too. That was that.

**B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B**

"Welcome, welcome, welcome!" Mr. Diggory's voice boomed in greeting as he ushered us through the front door. Mrs. Diggory was beaming a friendly greeting from the hallway too. Cedric lounged against the wall with his hands in his pockets. His eyes just barely glanced up at us when we entered. "I hope you will enjoy your stay here. It's always nice to have guests." Mr. Diggory added as we dropped our bags to the floor. "Cedric, take these young ladies' bags upstairs to their rooms, would you?" It was stated more as a command than a question though. Cedric whisked the bags off the floor and headed upstairs. I longed to follow him but I didn't.

I followed Mom and Mr. and Mrs. Diggory around the house as they gave us the official tour. Fred had been right. There was a nice library and many dark rooms and no back yard. I could practically hear my tiger yowling in complaint already. I would have to make the best of it though. I tried not to feel annoyance at Dee for leaving and forcing us to find somewhere else to stay. That became easier to do when I thought of what she was actually doing. I admired her for it. Sometimes I wished I was half as brave as she was.

**B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B**

My room was quite simple. A sturdy, comfy looking bed with white linens stood beneath the only window in the room. The window was draped in dark blue, which contrasted sharply with the pristine white walls. The floors were cold wood that the wooden dresser practically blended in with. There was also a matching wooden desk that sat on the opposite wall from the window, next to the door. My bag had been tossed onto the bed, messing up the carefully made bed. This made me smile. I didn't want my bed to be carefully made and it was just one step to making this room into a place that I could live and breathe in. I sighed and threw myself down on the bed next to my bag, effectively messing the bed more. A soft, low chuckle came from the doorway, startling me. I looked to see Cedric leaning in the doorway. His smile was warm and friendly. I couldn't help but to return it. My heart thrummed softly at the fact that he was seeing me and only me. No distractions. Though I missed Dee already, I would not miss having her around when I was around Cedric.

"My mother hates it when beds are messed. She would have us sleep on the floor if she could, just to keep the beds made neatly." He stated with laughter in his voice. I giggled at this.

"Well, you can sleep on the floor, but I'm sleeping in this big comfy bed." I replied with a wink. Inwardly I was shocked at how easily and casually I had replied. That wasn't like me at all. He laughed in reply. Then he just wandered away without saying anything else. I pouted silently to myself at his departure. Of course he doesn't want to spend too much time with me. I'm just some silly teenage girl from America. I got up and began unpacking. It was going to be a long few weeks until the end of summer.

*****Yeah! Found time to throw down a new chapter for this story too! Thanks for Reading, Please Review. =)**


	7. Breathing

**^^^Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything that is not mine. J.K. Rowling created this wonderful world and the characters within it and I am very grateful she did. I do however claim the original characters I have created which include; Deirdra and Annie. I partially claim Constance Reese but give credit to StupefyStunner, who originally created the teenage version of her in a story that no longer exists.^^^**

I could practically see metal bars imprinted upon the walls of my room. I might as well have been caged. I wanted to scream in frustration. I needed out but there wasn't anywhere to go. I had begged my mom endlessly to let me go visit the Weasleys again. Then when that failed, I begged to go to Diagon alley to visit Fred and George at the joke shop. Again, my request had been denied. "It is far too dangerous for you to be going around paying visits without any real purpose." I mouthed in annoyance the words my mother had said so calmly and dismissively that I had wanted to smack her and ask her where her emotions had been locked away at. I knew that I got my temper from my father, but I also knew that my mother was quite the crack pot herself on occasion. A knock sounded at my open door and I turned my head and bared my teeth at whoever it was. I glared uncaringly at Cedric as he raised his eyebrows at me.

"Feisty today, I see." He said casually as he invited himself into my room and sat himself down at the foot of my bed. I didn't reply and I made a point of not looking at him. He however decided to stare openly at me until I was forced to return the look. He smiled grimly at me. "I think you need to get some air." He said as though he knew what was best for me. This irritated me. Not because I thought he didn't know what was best for me, but that he did know what was best and that I didn't know how I could get it.

"Please, pray tell. If you know where I can go to get fresh air, speak up." I said tartly with my arms crossed over my chest. I felt uncomfortable with him sitting on the end of my bed without invitation. For one thing, I was in my pajamas, which I kept to minimalism of thin drawstring pants and a loose spaghetti tank, tiger striped of course. For another thing, well, he was quite attractive, and quite male and quite comfortably sitting on my bed, where I slept… and… well… never mind. The rest is my own business. The thoughts made me blush, which I could tell Cedric noticed. He let out a soft chuckle.

"Come on, I have some place to show you." He stood up and offered his hand to me. I stared at it for a long moment before I reached out and took hold of it. He tugged me, not roughly, but hard off the bed. I was barefoot but I didn't care. I'd run around barefoot all the time if I could.

He led me through the house and into a small room that I had dismissed previously as a stuffy old closet. However, hidden behind one of the panels was a stairway that led upward. I followed him blindly, trusting him completely for some reason. After a long time of climbing in the dark stairwell, we emerged into a tower of sorts. The moon shone in through the windows that flowed from one to another around the circular room. Looking up the ceiling was made of glass too. I was mesmerized. I loved the night sky and this was the perfect place for viewing the night sky if you had to be inside. I smiled at Cedric.

"I thought you might like it." He said with a handsome smile. He released my hand and moved around the room to open a few of the windows. "Fresh air." He said simply and turned that handsome smile back on me. It was like basking in the light of two moons. One, the actual moon, the other, Cedric's handsome smile. I shook my mind away from such silly thoughts. I hated it when my mind deteriorated into such silly teenage girl thoughts. Of course, that was often, since I was, quite obviously, a teenage girl. I let out a soft laugh at my own thoughts and Cedric cocked an eyebrow at me curiously.

"I suppose you probably like to escape here as well since you're always cooped up in the basement." I offered, trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah, well, I can't go out because I'm not supposed to be alive. I find solace in the fact that I can practice and train to be a better wizard in our basement but yes, I do enjoy escaping here to have a nice view of the stars.I like to think about the science behind the stars and their light. Did you know that the light we see from stars is at least several years old? By the time the light has reached our galaxy and our eyes, it has traveled such a great distance that time has already passed where the light originated from." I raised my eye brows at him in interest but inside I was trying desperately not to laugh. He was cute when he was trying to be smart.

"Interesting…" I fed him. He beamed and then began pointing out to me the different constellations within the night sky. I decided to enjoy myself and I found myself an hour later, lying on the floor of the room, with Cedric lying next to me, still staring up at the stars while he continued to rattle off all that he knew of the stars. It was quite interesting once I actually started to listen but I knew I wouldn't remember it all later. I knew what I would remember from this night is the feeling of lying so close to Cedric beneath the night sky and feeling happy and content while he spoke soft words of wisdom I never expected to remember. I would remember what was important though and that was that I could find a way to be happy, wherever I was.

***** =) I don't have much to say for this chapter. I think it turned out sweet in a way. Thanks for Reading, Please Review. I love you all. =)**


	8. Binding

**^^^Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything that is not mine. J.K. Rowling created this wonderful world and the characters within it and I am very grateful she did. I do however claim the original characters I have created which include; Deirdra and Annie. I partially claim Constance Reese but give credit to StupefyStunner ,who originally created the teenage version of her in a story that no longer exists.^^^**

**A/NThis is a companion story to my other story, The Invisible Girl. Go check it out. It's a George/OC romance/adventure story. Deirdra is the main character in it. The stories merge starting at chapter 37 of Invisible Girl.**

I couldn't find a way to be happy wherever I was. Not when the place I was stuck in was a hell house disguised as a school. My fellow Gryffindors had assured me that Hogwarts wasn't normally like this. It had been nice until the death eaters, followers of Voldemort, had taken over…

I rubbed my hand absently, trying to sooth the pain from the letters that had been etched there from writing lines in detention. The walls echoed the plodding of footfalls of the students moving about the halls but there was no chatter. Most of the students didn't even look up at each other, afraid that if someone saw them make eye contact with another student that they would be accused of conspiring. I couldn't believe this is how I was forced to spend my last year of school. At least Christmas break was coming soon… That's assuming that they let us go home for the break. I wasn't so sure they were. I imagined spending Christmas break chained up in the dungeon… or worse… I looked up just in time to catch the eyes of Neville Longbottom. He had quickly risen to fame as the leader of the rebellion within the school. I liked him. Not like how I like Cedric…but as a friend. I smiled grimly at him and he gave me a curt nod. I knew that it was dangerous for me to making eye contact and smiling at him but I didn't really care. The teachers hadn't seen me transform into my tiger…yet…

B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B

Silent tears streamed down my face as I resisted crying out in pain. I wasn't sure I could cry out in pain anyways, not with my jaw broken. Amycus Carrow glared at me from across the room where he still held a towel to his clawed up face. I glared right back at him through my tears.

"Still got quite the spirit in you little girl… You think you're so tough because you can turn into a tiger… How about I declaw this pesky little tiger... Let's see how you like that." Alecto Carrow sneered at me as she reached for my wrists and dragged me across the floor to a table. My eyes widened in fear as she picked up a large knife. She laughed as she slammed down the knife on the end of one of my fingers. I screamed in pain, which only made the pain worse as my broken jaw made more pain sear through my mind…

B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B

I rubbed my jaw absently as I rode in silence on the train. Christmas break had come, as well as a hasty trip to the nurse before being allowed to go home. The Carrows had placed a binding spell on my tongue, as well as the majority of the students to keep up from telling our parents how we were being treated at school. I felt broken still. My jaw had been healed and my finger-tips, but not completely. I was still declawed. My tiger, inside, felt defeated and sad. If my tiger could be defeated, how easily could I be done just the same? I always felt that my tiger was what made me strong and courageous. Now I didn't know where to draw from. I felt like an empty shell, walking half dead, waiting for my end.

My mom waited for me at the station, a smile on her face. She was the only parent who didn't look worried that their child might not be coming home to them on the train. I knew many of the students were worried that their parents wouldn't be there to pick them up. This was the times we were living in. My mind drifted to Dee and I wondered how she was doing and where she was and how she was helping Harry. I hoped that they were working on something to stop Voldemort. I hoped with all my might, because I wasn't sure I would be able to survive the rest of the year. I stepped off the train slowly, lifelessly.

"Annie!" My mom greeted me and pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged her back but not with a lot of enthusiasm. She pulled back and looked at me. Her eyes searched mine and she frowned. "What's wrong? Has school not been good?" She asked. I felt the Carrows' binding grip my tongue.

"It's been fine Mom." I replied, sounding to myself much like a robot. She smiled weakly at me and nodded her head and pulled me into another hug.

"Well, let's get going. Mrs. Diggory has a grand feast planned for tonight to welcome you home for the holidays."

B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B

I was returning to the dining room from using the bathroom when I heard Cedric talking about me, or asking about me rather. I paused just outside the door.

"What's wrong with Annie?" He asked sincerely.

"What are you talking about my boy? She seems perfectly fine, probably just tired from all the hard school work. I can't believe she ended up a Gryffindor. I figured her to be a Ravenclaw myself." Mr. Diggory said in a loud, boastful voice.

"I'm sure she's fine. If something was wrong, she'd tell me. That's one thing I've never had to worry about with my Annie, she always speaks her mind." Mom added cheerfully with a small laugh at the end. I bit my lip and debated returning at all. I hated not being able to talk to anyone about what had been happening at school. I felt so helpless. I couldn't skip out though; I didn't want to hurt Mrs. Diggory's feeling. She had gone to so much work preparing this feast. She had done it muggle style. I had to give her credit. She actually did a good job. Everything tasted wonderful. I went back in with a fake smile and tried my best to pretend everything was ok. Cedric gave me concerned looks off and on through the rest of the meal but I ignored him as much as possible, afraid of the tears that would threaten to spill out if he questioned me.

B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B

I stared up at the night sky from my spot on the floor. I had dreamt of lying here so often over the semester. It's almost funny how this dusty house seemed more desirable than the huge campus of Hogwarts… I rubbed my fingers, feeling the pain deep in my bones, my tiger yowled painfully inside me. Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes and before I could reach up and stop them, they slid down my cheeks.

"What's wrong?" Cedric demanded in a concerned tone. I jumped to my feet, startled by his sudden presence. How had I not heard him approach? Usually my tiger would be able to sense him before he would even be in the room… My tiger was too busy yowling in pain now though… I shook my head no, unable to speak to him of what was wrong. "Are you hurt?" He asked, sounding almost mad. I bit my lip unable to tell him no but unable to tell him yes. More tears slid down my cheeks and I burst into sobs. Cedric was in front of me and pulling me into his embrace faster than lightening. I cried into his chest, finding comfort in his embrace. When finally I was able to stop crying and wipe away my tears, Cedric stood there with a stubborn look on his face. "You need to tell me what's wrong." He demanded, sounding angry.

"I cannot tell you." I replied barely before the binding reigned me in. He furrowed his eyebrows and frowned.

"Why can't you tell me?" He asked, sounding more curious now.

"Impossible, I'm b—"The binding cut me off mid word and I made a choking sound. Cedric's eyes grew wide.

"Your tongue is bound?" He nearly shouted. I couldn't even nod yes to him but I was able to lift my finger and point at him and widen my eyes. I hoped that would answer him in the affirmative. "Those sons of bitches! What have they been doing to you and everyone else at Hogwarts that they have to bind you from telling your family over Christmas break?" I knew he wasn't really asking for an answer since he knew I couldn't tell him but I still felt the magical binding clamp down on me to keep me from answering. "Well, they think they are so clever but they are not. I can unbind your tongue and you'll tell me everything." With that he pulled out his wand and started reciting an intricate spell. I widened my eyes in fear. I hoped the Carrows hadn't been smart enough to put protection on their binding spell to keep it from being broken; otherwise Cedric or I could be in danger…

B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B

Mom inspected each of my fingers one by one and with a smile she declared me done.

"Claw reconstruction complete!" She said cheerfully and pulled me into a hug. Tears slid down my cheeks again. I couldn't remember crying so much in my life than I had this year. Cedric had successfully unbound my tongue and I spilled the whole story of the semester from hell to him while sobbing uncontrollably as he held me. When we were done, he led me to my mother where I did a repeat of the same thing with her. She immediately inspected my jaw and fingers to see about making sure they were properly healed. The night blurred and I was so tired from all the crying I had done. Mom helped me upstairs to my room where I fell nearly instantly asleep on my bed.

I awoke to starlight. That confused me. Looking around, I was still in my bedroom. I heard Cedric laugh from the rocking chair.

"Do you like it? I thought I'd bring the stars to you so you could sleep in your comfy bed." He explained. I smiled at him in the darkness.

"Yes, I love it. Thank you very much." Cedric got up from the rocking chair and sat on the edge of my bed, looking down at me. My heart started to thrum erratically. Silently, I scolded it. "I'm sorry for what you've been through at school. I wish I could have been there to stop them."

"You couldn't have been there; otherwise everyone would know that you're alive." I rationalized. "Besides, you're too old to fit in as a student now." I added with a playful wink. He chuckled lightly at that.

"I'm not THAT old." He defended himself with a smile. Silence stretched between us for a moment. "I've missed you." He added simply, his golden eyes glowing in the fake starlight. My tiger, inside, purred in pleasure at the sight and I silently shushed her. Cedric pushed some of my hair out of my face. His touch sent shivers down my body, good shivers. "I'll let you get back to sleep. Sorry to have disturbed you." He said suddenly with a catch in his voice.

"You haven't disturbed me at all. I'm not sorry for a moment I've spent with you." Inside I cringed and wished to throw my hand over my mouth. I couldn't believe that came out of my mouth, but it did… Cedric smiled and got up and left quickly, leaving me alone with his stars. Christmas break would not be long enough it seemed.

***** Yeah! Sorry for such a depressing chapter. I thought the Hogwarts scene needed to be played out some. I really like how the chapter turned out. Don't worry. I'll give another Christmas break chapter before moving back to the Hogwarts scene. =) Tell me what ya think please. Thanks for reading!**


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